The present invention relates in general to video and image processing techniques. More particularly, the invention provides a method and system for automatically enhancing videos and images. Merely by way of example, the invention is described as it applies to dynamically processing video and images for viewing, but it should be recognized that the invention has a broader range of applicability.
Over the last decade, with advent of consumer electronics and more specifically media players (e.g., DVD player, player computer, portable multimedia devices, cellular phones, online video processing, etc.) arc used for playing media contents in various formats. For a variety of reasons, media contents often need to be processed (e.g., enhanced, adjusted, etc.) before they are presented for viewing and/or other purposes.
Typically, video enhancements include a de-interlacing, removing compression artifacts, scaling, etc. For these, certain conventional techniques have been developed and improved. Some of the conventional techniques such as include noise reduction, contrast enhancement, etc., are derived from traditional image processing techniques. As a result, these techniques are often inadequate. For example, various applications such as video enhancements often require fast processing speeds for providing real time video viewing, and such need often not fulfilled by conventional techniques. Typically, real time is used to indicated that the processes are performed at a sufficient speed to allow non-interrupted viewing. In addition, conventional enhancement techniques implemented as separate functional blocks that are burdensome and sometimes impractical to implement for certain applications (e.g., cellular phone display, real time video streaming over communication networks, etc.).
Hence it is highly desirable to improve techniques for efficiently and effectively enhancing videos and images.